


after midnight

by Kazutoes



Category: The Social Network (2010)
Genre: M/M, eduardo and mark go skinny dipping oops, ends up with feelings, sean parker is an asshole, so pls dont come in here and complain about characterization, soft markwardo, they dont actually "skinny dip", this is incredibly ooc and quite indulgent, unless its somehow in character then enjoy!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25195663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazutoes/pseuds/Kazutoes
Summary: In which Mark asks Eduardo to go skinny dipping with him, and everything goes from there.
Relationships: Eduardo Saverin/Mark Zuckerberg
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	after midnight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zodiacperalta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zodiacperalta/gifts).



> hhhhhh im a slut for soft markwardo no i will not elaborate

It had been a couple weeks since Eduardo finally flew out to Palo Alto, fully investing his time on Facebook. After getting his father’s furious phone-calls out of his head, he had been enjoying living with the team in California. Despite the somewhat consistent appearance of Sean, they had gotten the angel investment. They were gonna be able to afford an office space, and stop relying on Eduardo for the money they needed.

This was gonna be one of the last nights they spend here in this house, before they can finally start formally paying their employees to move into their own apartments. Which, lead to Mark inviting Eduardo outside to talk about what they were gonna do financially. Not like they were getting anywhere.

“Have you ever gone skinny dipping?” Mark asks, tilting his head to look at Eduardo. He watches in amusement as Eduardo's jaw seemed to drop, his eyes widening significantly.

Eduardo was almost shocked. He looked over to Mark, who was staring back at him. He was being serious. Holy shit.

“Uh… no, I haven’t.” He murmured, turning back towards the crystal clear water. The chilly night air whooshed through them as they sat there, a lull of silence between them.

A soft "Do you want to?" came from Mark soon after, a hopeful look in his dark blue eyes. Eduardo felt his heart stop. There's no way he was asking him this. Especially coming from the man who probably hasn't stepped outside in the last three days alone.

But against all odds, he can feel himself nod. "Yeah. Yeah, sure." 

Mark stands up and slips off his slides, tossing them off to the side carelessly. Then, he pulled off his hoodie and t-shirt, his somehow lean frame illuminated by the moonlight. Eduardo can't help but stare, feeling hot in his casual suit.

His shorts came off next, leaving him only in just his boxers. A drafty wind blew by them, goosebumps slowly prickling Mark's skin. And he's still staring. Whoops.

"Don't just sit there," Mark murmurs, an honest to god blush high on his cheeks. "The waters still warm from earlier, come on."

What alternate universe was he dropped into that caused into something like… this? He was slightly tempted to ask if Mark was drunk because this was highly unexpected.

He stands up a moment later, unbuttoning his shirt quickly. While he was undressing Mark had already gotten into the water, standing in the waist-deep side of the pool. Nearly tripping getting his slacks off, he finally peels off his socks and jumps into the pool. A shock followed as the cold water touched his body.

"Y-you said the water was warm!" He gasped, brushing his now dark bangs out of his eyes. 

He can hear Mark softly laughing as he ran his hands through the water, trying to get used to the cold.

"It was warm to me," He said, a warm smile on his face. God, there has to be something wrong with him. The Mark he knew would never even consider doing something like this, much less… this.

"Are you sure you're not drunk?" He asked, feeling himself smile back.

"If I was, could I do-" Mark abruptly cut off as he dove underwater, swimming towards Eduardo.

"-this?" He asked as he surfaced, pulling Eduardo down with him.

“H-He-” He tried to say before it was cut off into a short bubbling, and there was silence for a few moments.

The surface of the water broke again as they rose up again, both gasping for air.

"Mark!" Eduardo spoke, a wild grin on his face. The burn and smell of chemicals filled his senses as he started to cough, realizing how much water he actually inhaled.

"Wardo?" Mark asks, placing a hand on his shoulder. His touch seemed to electrify him, and he pulled back, regaining his composure.

"Y-you mad-man!" He says, a grin continuing to grace his tanned features. His brown eyes meeting blue as they floated in the water together. Before he knows it though, Mark pushes backward.

The water stills as Mark floats on the water, unburdened. The temptation to splash him was too great, but even he has manners.

"Hey," He murmurs, wading through the water until he reaches the upper part of Mark's body. "Where are we going after this?"

Mark opens up one eye. "I figured you were going to go off on your own. Facebook isn't your top priority- and I didn't expect it to be."

He freezes. "I'm not going anywhere, Mark."

A pause. "What?"

He tries to say something more before the glass door flings open. It reveals Sean and a few girls dressed in swimsuits.

"Hey!" Sean slurs, placing an arm around the girl closest to him. He thinks her name is Emily. "You guys have been out here for hours!"

"So? I rent this place asshole!" He shouts back, and Mark places a hand on his shoulder. He nearly jumps.

"It's fine," Mark whispers. "Let's just go inside."

Without warning the two girls jump into the pool. It ends up splashing both him and Mark.

They quickly exit the pool and grab their clothes, ignoring Sean's piercing jeers. He resists the urge to flip him off.

Thankfully, Mark's room is near the back door. Slipping in quietly, they head towards his room. The sound of soft typing fills both their ears, a sound almost comforting to hear. Nights of falling asleep to it in Mark's dorm room helped him get used to it. Call him sentimental but it was a nice sound to slip away to.

Reaching Mark's room, he lets Mark through first before finally walking in himself, closing the door behind him.

This had to be the only room with some sort of AC in it because immediately he started to feel chilled, wrapping his arms around himself. 

"Here," Mark says, a pair of sweatpants ending up in his vision. He catches them swiftly, giving them a once over, Thankfully, no stains or anything were on them.

"Bathroom's on the right," Mark says simply, rifling through the drawer once more. He was most likely looking for another pair of sweatpants.

Eduardo quickly leaves the room, finding the bathroom right where Mark told him it would be.

He shuts the door behind him before changing into Mark’s sweatpants, amusingly finding them too short for him. Looking back up, he sees his flushed reflection in the mirror, his hair already drying to its natural style. Damn.

Soft pop music played in the background, leftover from Sean and his "girls" hanging out, too loud to be even considered not party music. He shakes his head (with wet strands of hair hitting his face) before walking back out, heading towards Mark's room again.

He opens the door slowly to find Mark sitting at his computer desk. Except his laptop was closed, and smoke was pouring out in front of him. The fan sucked it all up into the night, leaving a soft chill in the room.

"You smoke?" Eduardo asks, closing the door behind him. The background noise fades once more.

Mark turns toward him with a semi-surprised expression, a cigarette lit between his index and middle finger. His expression fades into apathy as he turns to the side, taking a drag from the cigarette.

"Sometimes," He breathes out, watching the smoke float up into the air. Flicking out a bit of the ash, he points it towards Eduardo in an asking manner.

And for some reason, he takes it.

They share a few minutes of silence as they passed the cigarette back and forth. Eduardo can't help but stare at Mark, admiring things about him. How soft his fingers looked and felt as they passed the cigarette back and forth, the moonlight illuminating his sandy brown hair. How his pale skin (something that Mark curses) almost glows.

Mark takes his last few drags before crushing it on some sort of plate, dropping it into the trash can. He turns towards Eduardo, lifting his leg up onto the chair to rest his head.

"Before Sean ushered us inside," Mark began, taking a deep breath. Eduardo resists the urge to murmur "forced."

"You can leave whenever you want to," Mark says, looking away from Eduardo's gaze. "As I said, Facebook isn't your priority. You shouldn't be expected to stay here if you don't want to."

Eduardo shakes his head, pushing his bangs back away from his eyes. "I'm not leaving, Mark."

Mark looks straight at him, surprise shown in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" He whispers, and if Eduardo listens close enough he can almost hear the note of hope in his low voice.

"I stopped kissing Madison Avenue's ass," Eduardo shrugged, turning to lie on Mark's bed. "You needed me here, and I listened."

Mark didn't reply.

It only takes a moment before the words start pouring out.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come out sooner,” Eduardo says, looking away from Mark. “I wasn’t thinking- you didn’t deserve that. Facebook didn’t deserve that.”

Mark lets out a small breath, shaking his head. “It’s alright. You’re here now, right?”

He mulls that over for a second, running his hand through his hair. “Yeah. I suppose I am.”

Now that he thought about it, this is probably the longest he's got Mark's attention, ever since that night. And he's enjoying it, very very much.

The music faded away long ago, leaving them in complete silence.

"The connections, the energy…" Eduardo murmured, remembering Mark's words from their fight in the hallways.

He looked at Mark. "Where are you going after this?" He realizes it's a rephrased question from earlier.

Mark shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't looked for a place yet."

"Why?" He gaped. 

He received no answer yet again, only finding Mark blankly staring into space again. Almost like he was holding something back.

The clock on the wall finally hits 2 am. Eduardo was just about to drift off until Mark started speaking, his voice quiet and nervous.

"There's a house that's nearby the new offices. It's near the city, too, and it's supposed to be cozy. I haven’t visited yet but it- it's nice.”  
  
He sat up, his attention piqued. "I thought you said you haven’t looked?”

Mark continued on, his voice shaking. “We could move in together, and then…”

His heart started to beat rapidly, watching as Mark stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting down just a foot away. Was he…?

“And then?” Eduardo whispers, staring into Mark’s dark blue eyes. 

"We start dating."

He feels himself tear up, overwhelming thoughts swirling in his head. Everything built up to this, the algorithm, starting up Facebook. They did it together, and now they were going to stay together. For good

Eduardo nods, a single tear falling down his cheek.

“Okay.” He smiles.

Mark smiles back.


End file.
